"My job, my mission, the reason I've been put on this planet, is to save wildlife." -Steve Irwin

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We recently saw Disney Nature’s newest documentary titled Monkey Kingdom, and it was pretty good. What I loved about this film that was different than previous Disney Nature pics was that they showed the interaction between the monkeys and their human neighbors. As humans develop more and more into previously wild areas, there will inevitably be some overlap. You get to see the difference in how they live between their wild home, and the one in the big city. Their sleeping habits are affected, their diets, and even their social structure. Narrated by Tina Fey, it had the typical style of other Disney Nature documentaries where the subjects are named, and the events take place from a particular animal’s perspective, in this case, an adult female monkey low in the social order. It follows the amazing journey of these monkeys from their home territory, to the big city, and back, and the female monkeys journey from the bottom to the top of the social hierarchy. I recommend this movie to both adults and children looking to learn more about nature and get a good story at the same time.

A gigantic ancient sea turtle fossil piece was found in New Jersey back in 2012. After doing a little research, it was discovered that the other half of that same bone was found over 100 years ago and was being housed at the Academy of Natural Sciences at Drexel University. The puzzle was complete. Now they can say with a relative degree of certainty that the turtle the humerus came from was roughly about 10 feet long! Watch the video above to learn more.

This week is the best week of the year. It’s SHARK WEEK! A week that the Discovery Channel dedicates entirely to one of the ocean’s most feared and misunderstood predators. I usually spend shark week glued to my TV, only leaving to eat and sleep. But this year I am working full time so I will have to miss out some. Lucky for me, Shark Weeks from years passed are available for instant play on Netflix. Any posts I make this week will be dedicated to sharks everywhere.

Shark Week runs from today, August 4th, through Saturday, August 10th.

The Gharial (Gavialis gangeticus), a member or the Crocodilians, is definitely weird compared to some of its more commonly known relatives. If the elongated snout weren’t funny looking enough, the males possess a rounded growth on the tip of their snout.

They are found in rivers of areas mostly in and around India. When they are fully grown, they eat primarily fish, but the young also feed on other invertebrates. They are long lived animals and can grow as long or longer than 13 feet. Fun fact about their reproduction: their eggs are the largest of any crocodilian species.

Unfortunately, these guys are listed as critically endangered and nearly went completely extinct back in the 1970’s. Now they are making some slow recovery. As with a lot of reptiles in that region of the world, they are hunted for suposed medicinal purposes. They are also a vistim of habitat loss. Captive breeding and release is a challenge when decent release sights are in short supply.